Shadow of a Doubt
by New Warrior of Fire
Summary: A new Black Ranger appears in Silver Hills. Meanwhile, Trip's having the time of his life with his new girlfriend. But things change when an accident in battle reveals the truth in many ways. A repost of my first fic. Please R and R!
1. A Sixth Power

It was a typical evening in the clock tower. Wes, Katie, Lucas and Trip were playing poker and using Teddy Grahams in the place of poker chips. Jen was doing some business-related computer work. Suddenly, Jen came running out into the living room.

"You guys," Jen panted. "A mutant is attacking." Everyone nodded, then the five of them headed to the lower level of the clock tower.

"You guys ready?" Jen asked.

"Ready." Everyone called in unison. "Time for, Time force!"

The Rangers ran to the town square, where the mutant criminal was attacking. Jen stepped forward.

"Hold it right there, Placebot. We're Time Force. And we're taking you in."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Placebot summoned a massive horde of Cyclobots.

"Cyclobots, attack!" The Cyclobots swarmed the Rangers. Each Ranger was battling about twenty Cyclobots each. There were just too many.

"There's just too many!" Wes cried.

The situation seemed hopeless. Suddenly, a streak of black swished over the main cluster of Cyclobots, taking them out. The Rangers were free.

"What happened?" Trip asked.

The black streak stopped in front of Placebot, and solidified into a sixth Ranger, who was clad in a black Time Force Ranger suit. The Ranger took out a Time Force badge.

"Time Force! For breaking the laws of time, I'm taking you in." The Ranger declared. Placebot was not impressed.

"I will destroy you, and the other Rangers, in your own minds!" Placebot announced.

"We'll see about that! Chrono Sabers!" The Ranger called. The Ranger gave Placebot quite a beating. Placebot was never able to touch the new Black Ranger. Finally, the Black Ranger finished him off with a slice of the Chrono Sabers.

"Your time's up!" The Black Ranger announced. The mutant exploded, then fell to the ground as a tiny action figure. The Black Ranger contained him, then handed the container to the other Rangers.

"Here. I don't have anywhere to keep this." The Black Ranger said.

"Who are you?" Trip asked as he stared in wonder.

"Farewell, Rangers. I will see you again." The Black Ranger said. The Black Ranger shook Trip's hand, then streaked away. Trip stared at his hand, then at the sky, in awe.

That night, Trip ran a molecular scan on the morphing grid. Once he had traced the Black Ranger energy, he tapped into the DNA identification. Circuit informed him that for the computer to run a DNA scan, it would take anywhere from seventy-two hours, to ninety hours.

Trip sighed, started the scan, and went to bed.


	2. Christi

**THE NEXT DAY. . .**

It was Saturday in the clock tower. The Rangers had the day off of doing odd jobs, so everyone was excited. While Trip was upstairs doing some work-related thing, the others were figuring out what to have for breakfast.

"How about oatmeal?" Jen asked.

"I hate oatmeal!" Wes whined.

"Your lack of cooperation is you taking out your passive-aggression on others." Lucas told Wes.

"You're only berating Wes because you're insecure!" Katie yelled.

At that point, the whole thing turned into a fist fight. Trip was disturbed by the noise, so he came downstairs to see what was up. The others were duking it out, and simultaneously yelling their breakfast suggestions.

"Guys!" Trip yelled. "Why don't we have pizza for breakfast?" Everyone stopped to look at Trip.

"Hey, yeah, let's do that." Wes agreed.

"I'll go order it." Jen said. While she was ordering the pizza, everyone else played paper football. A few minutes later Jen came back.

"All right, guys. The pizza's ordered, but the delivery services are down for the day. Someone's gonna have to pick it up."

"How about we vote on who should pick up the pizza?" Trip asked.

"Good idea." Wes said. "All in favor of Trip picking up the pizza, say 'Aye'."

Everyone said 'Aye', except Trip.

"Well, there that is." Wes smiled.

Trip sighed. "All right. Just let me change first. I can't pick up the pizza in my pajamas."

"All in favor of him picking up the pizza in his pajamas?" Wes asked.

"Aye." Everyone said, except Trip. Then everyone shoved him out the door, in his pajamas.

"LET'S PLAY FOOSBALL!" Wes yelled. Everyone cheered. Trip sighed.

"Muh." He muttered. So he went and picked up the pizza, in his pajamas. Everyone who saw him laughed hysterically. Trip was absolutely mortified. So he was walking down the street, not paying any attention as to where he was going. Suddenly he bumped into a girl, sending her sprawling. As she fell, she knocked the pizza box out of his hands. The pizza box fell open, and she fell on the pizza. When she stood up, Trip could see her shirt was ruined. His pizza was ground permanently into it. Trip cringed, waiting for her to give him the chew-out of his life.

The girl asked, "Are you okay?"

Trip was shocked. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had asked him that. He had to think about it for a minute. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Gosh, I'm so sorry," She said.

Trip was amazed. "For what?" He asked. "I ruined your top."

"Yeah, but I ruined your pizza." She said embarrassedly. "I'll pay for it."

"Wow, thank you." Trip said.

After that Trip got another pizza. Trip said he needed to sit down for a moment. She sat next to him, and they started talking. Before either of them had realized it, an hour had passed. Trip looked at his watch.

"Oh, my gosh! I was supposed to be back almost an hour ago." Trip said. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

"Well, it was nice talking to you Trip. You want to go to the Italian Stallion and have dinner with me tonight?" She asked.

"Okay." Trip said excitedly.

"Here's my contact information, and I will meet you there at eight."

"Okay. Bye." Trip said dreamily. He watched her as she left. He looked back at his watch, then ran the rest of the way home.

Back at the clock tower, the others were worried. "Where's Trip? He was supposed to be here an hour ago." Katie said.

"Yeah, if I don't eat soon, my digestive system will be irregular for weeks." Wes moaned.

"Your digestive system is the LAST thing I want to think about right now." Jen growled.

"You're just insecure about your knowledge due to your sheltered upbringing." Lucas said.

"Back off, Lucas. Your egocentrism is based on the belief that you were ignored during childhood." Katie said.

"You're one to talk about egocentrism, Katie. You're only putting Lucas down to cope with your deep-seated insecurity!" Wes yelled.

At that point the whole thing broke out into a fist fight.

Then Trip approached the door of the clock tower just in time to see Katie tear it off its hinges. She then broke off the doorknob and tried to force-feed it to Wes. Then Jen threw Lucas outside, with only Trip to cushion the blow. Lucas picked himself up off of Trip, and happened to notice that he was back with pizza.

"Hey, you guys, the pizza's here!" Lucas yelled excitedly.

The others stopped fighting immediately. "All RIGHT!" Wes cheered. He, Jen and Lucas dived out of the clock tower and mauled Trip for his pizza. Once they had it, they ran back inside, leaving poor Trip sprawled out on the steps of the clock tower. Katie stayed back and helped Trip up. Then Katie went back to get some pizza. Trip walked about five steps into the clock tower, then he sat down in the middle of the floor.

The other Rangers didn't even notice that Trip wasn't sharing in their pizza. About twenty minutes later, after they were finished eating, they noticed something was off.

"Hey, guys." Lucas asked. "How come there's pizza left over? Don't we usually finish the whole thing?"

"Hey, yeah." Wes agreed. "There's four slices left over."

"Trip usually eats four slices of pizza." Katie noted.

"Wait, where is Trip?" Jen asked. "I haven't seen him since he came home."

"Let's go look for him." Katie suggested. The four of them nodded to each other and headed off. They found him sitting on the living room floor about ten feet away. Trip had this big, stupid grin on his face and he was muttering dreamily about something.

"Trip, are you okay?" Katie asked. Trip didn't seem to notice her.

"What the hell is WRONG WITH HIM?" Wes shouted.

"TRIP!" Jen yelled. Trip jumped and got up really fast.

"I'm sorry!" Trip said all nervously.

"Trip, what's wrong with you? You're not eating, you're talking to yourself and you're acting kinda dopey!" Jen told him.

"I'm sorry. I've just been kinda distracted because when I was out today I met this girl and she was really nice and we talked for an hour and now she's going to have dinner with me tonight!" Trip beamed.

"Yeah, right." Lucas said. "You expect us to believe that some girl asked_ you_ out?"

"She did!" Trip insisted. "And she gave me her contact information." Trip produced a piece of paper. Lucas took it from him.

"Christi Jackson." Lucas read aloud. "Wow, there's actually a woman in this world who's willing to take _you _out!" He said amusedly.

"Wow, congratulations, Trip." Katie smiled.

"Thanks. I can't WAIT!" Trip beamed.

Lucas put his hand on Trip's shoulder in a supportive manner. "What are you gonna wear?"

Trip's entire body froze. "I have to WEAR something?" Trip cried in horror.

"TRIP'S A FUCKING STREAKER!" Wes yelled. "SCANDAL!!"

Trip ignored Wes. "Lucas, you HAVE to help me! I have a date tonight and CAN'T SHOW UP FOR MY FIRST DATE EVER AND LOOK LIKE A TOTAL LOSER AND ENDURE SEVENTEEN MORE LONG, DATELESS YEARS!!" He screamed in horror.

"Do my odd jobs for a month and I'll think about it." Lucas said flippantly.

"I'll do your odd jobs for a YEAR if you can help me!" Trip promised.

"All right. First thing we have to do is get rid of that nerdy orange jacket. It's been driving me crazy for months." Lucas started.

And Lucas continued in such a manner for several hours. He painstakingly and throughly explained to Trip how to behave on a date, dine on a date, what to say on a date, etc. By the time he got to Trip's wardrobe, he was shocked and appalled to find that _all of his outfits looked exactly the same._ So he hooked Trip up with a black, long-sleeved lycra shirt, some form-fitting jeans, and some decent shoes.

He very carefully did Trip's hair, then jammed his bucket hat on top of it. Lucas finished with a layer of his favorite body spray, and took a step back to examine his transformation.

"Okay, Trip, you're ready for your date with Christi." Lucas said with a nod of satisfaction.

"Good. I'm so nervous. I haven't eaten anything since last night." Trip said shakily.

"One more thing, Trip. DON'T EAT LIKE A PIG! Just relax and you'll be just fine." Lucas assured him.

"Okay. 'Bye, guys." Trip said nervously.

"'Bye." Everyone called.

Trip headed out the door. He was freaking out the entire time on the way over. Every time he thought about what Lucas said, his stomach knotted. But then, when he thought about spending the evening with Christi, he realized he couldn't wait. When he got to the doors of the Italian Stallion, he had to stop to catch his breath. He was so scared. But then, he told himself that it was Christi, that she was really nice and just wanted to get to know him better. Trip smiled at the thought, then took a deep breath and summoned all the courage in him. Finally he opened the doors to the restraunt and went inside. Even though he was ten minutes early, he was pleased to see that Christi was already waiting for him. He went over to her.

"Hi, Christi." Trip said exstaically.

"Hi." Christi said shyly. Trip was surprised to see that she seemed as nervous as him.

Trip was amazed at how beautiful Christi was. Her black eyes sparkled, her silken locks of braided hair shone, and her body was slight and toned. Her skin looked so amazingly smooth, he wanted to stroke it.

"You look really nice." Trip said.

"Oh. Thank you." Christi said breathlessly. Her cheeks pinkend a little.

The rest of the date was incredible. The two of them spent two hours talking, and it took them even longer to eat their halves of their stallion burger. It seemed to Trip as though the night could go on forever. Which was just as well, because it was the best night of his life. Finally, they had to leave. Trip offered to walk Christi home, and she delightedly accepted. They walked as slowly as possible, savoring every shared moment. Eventually, they reached Christi's front porch, and Christi asked him to have lunch with her the next day. Trip gleefully accepted.

"Thanks for everything, Trip." Christi said.

"Thank you. That was the most fun I've ever had." Trip said. Christi hugged him tightly, and as he embraced her, he savored how warm and smooth she was. As they held onto each other,

Christi said, "You're the most wonderful, amazing human being I've ever encountered."

"Th-thank you." Trip said self-consciously. What she had said struck him.

"Good night." Christi said as her slight figure slipped into her house.

"Good night." Trip said quietly. He sighed and headed in the direction of the clock tower. When he reached the clock tower door, he noted that everything seemed peaceful, no sounds of waking people, all was quiet. Then he opened the door. Trip gaped in shock. The clock tower was a disaster! In the three hours he was gone, his teammates had somehow managed to make the clock tower look like hell. There were empty pizza boxes, beer bottles, streamers, and a pile of shit in the corner. Wes, Jen, Katie and Lucas were on the floor about twelve feet away, each holding a beer bottle. They were playing Crazy Scrabbattleopolyship Eights, a board game of Wes's creation. The four of them didn't even notice that Trip was home. They were so drunk, they probably didn't remember that Trip had left. Trip stayed for a moment to see what would happen next.

Lucas said, "Okay. I lay the word 'enzymes,' which is all seven letters so I get the fifty point bonus, and I form a s-hook on the word 'cab,' thus changing it to 'scab,' so I get scored for that. Also, since the intersecting letter is on B8 relative to Jen's fleet, I sunk her carrier. A sunk ship entitles me to move eight spaces, and since I lay the three of hearts, I'm sending. . . You to jail, Wes!" He cried triumphantly.

"Awww, Fuck." Wes whined.

"Wes, why do you have to be so crude?" Jen moaned.

"Back off, Jen. Wes is entitled to his psychosexual inclinations, and you're only attacking him due to your insecurity which stems from lack of attention." Lucas said.

"You're one to talk about insecurity, Lucas. You're shifting the focus off of you because you have low self-esteem!" Jen yelled.

Katie yelled something at Lucas, but she was so drunk, and slurred her words so badly that Trip had no idea what she had said. It must have been pretty offensive, because that would provide a logical explanation for Lucas sucker-punching Katie. Meanwhile, Jen grounded and pounded Wes. Trip sighed, and went upstairs. He decided to check the DNA scan's progress. He typed in a few lines of code, which brought him to the mainframe. There was a Twenty percent DNA match, which was progress, of course, but that was still only the beginning. There was nothing he could do to speed the process. He decided to go to bed, even though he knew that wasn't going to make him think any less about what Christi had said. The sentence played in his head over and over.

"_You're the most wonderful, amazing human being I've ever met."_ He couldn't forget it. The way she'd said it, the way her eyes took on an even brighter shine when she had said it. He knew he couldn't tell her that he wasn't even human. But even if he could, what would Christi think? The question kept him awake all night.


	3. Suspisions Arise

The next day was Sunday, so once again, there were no odd jobs to be done. Which was just as well. The Rangers were not feeling well at all. Trip because of his lack of sleep, and the others due to a massive hangover.

"What happened last night?" Katie asked.

"The last thing I remember was Trip leaving." Lucas said.

"That's always a memorable occurrence. 'Cause when Trip's disposed, Circuit's exposed." Wes said.

"Look, as much as I would like to blow up that robotic reject from the local freaks'r'us stores, Trip would be heartbroken." Jen said, as if Trip wasn't standing right there.

Trip sighed. "You spent the night partying and playing Crazy Scrabbattleopolyship Eights and drinking beer."

"But I don't drink." Jen said.

"You just don't remember, 'cause when you're drinking, you get drunk and you can't remember anything." Wes said. "Heck, the last thing I remember was destroying Circuit."

"WHAT??!" Trip shrieked in anguish. "YOU DIDN'T!"

"No, I didn't, but I love freaking you out."

"Leave Trip alone, Wes, or I'll tell everyone what you ordered from that female health catalog." Katie threatened.

Wes sighed like a punctured whoopee cushion in a fish tank.

"What did he order?" Jen asked.

"Come on, Wes, tell us." Lucas prompted.

"Wes is chicken, he won't do it." Katie jeered.

"Yeah, come on Wes. Do it." Jen taunted.

Then the clock tower erupted into cries of, "Do it! Do it! Do it!"

"I will." Wes growled.

"Do it!" They chanted one more time.

"I WILL!!" Wes shouted.

Trip hurried out of the kitchen. He really didn't want to know, and besides, it was time for him to start getting ready for his date with Christi. After he showered and was getting dressed, he heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Come in." He called.

It was Wes, who was still considerably hung over.

"Hey, Trip." Said Wes. "Just wanted to remind you not to FUCK UP YOUR DATE SO CHRISTI HATES YOUR FUCKING GUTS!"

Trip muhed. "Thanks, Wes! Why don't you go destroy Circuit, or something else I hold dear?!"

Wes looked somewhat concerned. He put a hand on Trip's shoulder.

"Trip." Wes said gently. Then he tore his hand off of Trip's shoulder and gave him The Finger. (With BOTH hands, folks!)

"FUCK YOU!" Wes left laughing hysterically.

Trip partially blamed Wes's behavior on his alcohol consumption. But that wasn't his main concern. What if he really did tank this date? The last date had gone amazingly well, after all, and Christi probably expected him to top that. The whole thing left Trip in a daze. He knew it was time to leave for his date, and if he didn't leave right now, he would risk being late, and Christi would potentially be mad. On the other hand, he was so terrified he didn't know if he could bring himself to go through with it.

Just then he heard a knock at the door. Trip had a good guess of who it might be.

"What now, Wes? You want to show me the burnt remains of my pride and joy, the pinnacle of my triumph, the product of my toil, a.k.a. CIRCUIT?!"

"Trip, it's me." Trip recognized that voice.

"Oh, sorry Katie. I thought you were Wes." Trip opened the door and faced Katie,

"Trip, you have to go now!" Katie urged.

Trip sighed. "What if I tank it? I don't know if I can go through with it anymore."

Katie stroked his cheek. "Trip, Christi wouldn't have asked you out if she didn't really like you. She just wants to spend time with you. You don't have to preform. Just enjoy being with Christi."

Trip was awed. "Wow, thanks Katie." That was the best advice she'd ever given him. He stepped closer and hugged her tightly. Then Wes showed up again. Trip and Katie got out of the bathroom just before Wes got in.

"All, rigggggghhhhhhht. That's what I'm talking about." Wes said. It was common knowledge that when Wes was in the bathroom, he thought nobody could hear him. As a result, one of the favorite pastimes of the Rangers was listening to Wes ramble when he was on the toilet.

"Hey guys, Wes is on the toilet." Katie called. Jen and Lucas ran over to her.

"All right. Did we miss anything?" Lucas asked.

Trip got out of there as fast as he could. Once again, he really didn't want to know. And besides, it was time for him to leave for his date.

"'Bye, guys." Trip called. No one even noticed.

The walk over seemed to take forever. Trip was beginning to think he'd never get there. He couldn't wait to see Christi again. Then it occurred to him that Ransik had been quiet for a while now. He really hoped that there wouldn't be a mutant attack when he was in the middle of a date. How was he supposed to explain it to Christi if he suddenly had to leave? Suddenly he realized he was at the cafe where he was supposed to meet Christi. He saw where she was seated, about twenty feet away. He ran to her.

"Hi, Christi!" Trip said excitedly.

"Hey, Trip." Christi said. She gave him a warm smile.

The two of them talked for about half an hour. Their food was taking forever to arrive, but they didn't mind. They were really enjoying each other. Christi was in the middle of telling Trip something when suddenly her voice trailed off. She seemed to be staring at something.

"Christi? What is it?" Trip asked.

Christi jumped. "Oh, nothing, it's just. . . That bracelet." She pointed at his morpher. "Where did you get it?"

"I, um . . ." Trip stammered. Right on cue, his morpher beeped.

"Oh no! Not now." Trip muttered. "Christi, I have to go, but I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Okay. Go." She said. "I'll wait here."

"Thank you." He called over his shoulder.

Trip arrived at the scene where the mutant was attacking. The other four Rangers were already there.

"Freeze, Concertacon!" Jen commanded. "We're Time Force, and we're taking you in."

"I don't think so, Rangers!" Concertacon declared. The Rangers ran to him and struck him with their Chrono Sabers. Concertacon molecularized, and their Sabers went right through him.

"Our Sabers are going right through him!" Wes noted.

"Now it's my turn!" Concertacon declared. He whipped them with his long, bladed tail, and the Rangers' suits shot sparks. The Rangers were down, and the situation seemed hopeless. Suddenly, a swish of black came over Concertacon, and he shot sparks and fell to the ground.

"What was that?" He demanded.

It was the Black Ranger. "Freeze, Concertacon! I'm taking you in."

Concertacon got up. "You may have won this battle, Rangers, but I'll be back!" And with that, Concertacon was gone.

The Black Ranger helped the other Rangers up. "Are you guys okay?" The Black Ranger asked.

"Yeah, thanks." Trip responded.

"We will meet again, Rangers." The Black Ranger called, then ran off.

"Wait! Come back!" Trip called after the Black Ranger.

The Rangers powered down. Trip looked at his watch. "Oh no! I have to go meet Christi! 'Bye, guys!" The other Rangers didn't respond.

When Trip returned to the cafe, he was surprised to see that Christi wasn't there. He was sure she'd gotten sick of waiting for him, and left. Trip decided to leave. There was no point in just hanging around. Just as he was getting up, Christi came back.

"Sorry I'm late." Christi said.

"Where were you? I thought you were just going to wait for me here." Trip said.

At that moment, their food arrived, giving Christi an excuse to not respond. Trip let it go and decided to just enjoy her company. Together they had a wonderful afternoon, and when they returned to Christi's house, and it was over, they just looked longingly at each other, not wanting to state the obvious.

"Trip, do you want to have coffee with me tomorrow?" Christi asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes!" Trip said excitedly.

"Thank you for everything, Trip." Christi said sweetly. She hugged him. He held onto her tightly, not wanting to let go. But eventually, he had to.

"Goodbye, Christi." Trip said longingly.

"Goodbye." Christi whispered back. She sighed and went into her house. Trip headed for home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When he came back to the clock tower, the other Rangers were just sitting around at the table.

"We need something to do." Said Katie.

"Yeah, like a sporting event, something that someone would pay good money to see." Lucas agreed.

"Hey, let's see if Wes can drink a whole gallon of milk." Jen suggested.

"Of course I can." Wes sneered.

"Okay, here you go." Out of nowhere, Jen got a gallon of whole milk and set it in front of Wes.

"Okay, on my go." Said Katie. "Go!"

Wes gulped the milk, encouraged by the erupting shouts of "Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug, Chug!"

Wes did it, but he got really sick afterword. After they finished cleaning up all the vomit, Katie noticed Trip was just sitting on the couch all by himself. She went over to him.

"Hey, Trip, what's up?" She asked.

Trip sighed. "It's Christi. There's something strange about her."

"What do you mean?" Katie asked.

"When I was with her today, we were talking and then out of nowhere she started staring at my morpher. Then she asked me where I got it. It was so weird, almost as if she knew what it was."

"Did you. . .?" Katie asked.

"No, I didn't tell her anything. Should we tell Jen?"

"No. I don't think that's nessesary. Just keep you eyes open."

"Thanks, Katie. I'm going to go check the DNA scan now."

"Okay. Later, Trip."

Trip went upstairs to the computer. The scan had made some considerable progress. It was seventy percent complete, and the DNA configuration had confirmed that the Black Ranger was female. That came as a surprise to Trip. He had assumed that the mysterious Black Ranger was male. He found it attractive, in a way. What would Christi think if she knew he thought that about the Black Ranger? He was definatly more interested in her than any Black Ranger. Still, there was no denying that there was something special about the Black Ranger.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. After dinner, the other Rangers watched Gore Sport. Trip went to bed. He dreamed about Christi, and all the fun they'd had over the past two days.


	4. To the Edge of Life And Death

**THE NEXT DAY. . .**

The next day there were no odd jobs to be done, as it was a three day weekend. The Rangers awoke to the soothing sounds of Lucas giving Wes the beating of his life.

"YOU PISSED IN MY HAIR GEL, YOU FUCKING WEASEL!" Lucas screamed.

"I had to go real bad!" Wes whined.

"LUCAS!" Jen thundered. "DO NOT KILL WES! HIS NAME'S ON THE LEASE!"

"Sorry, Jen." Lucas threw Wes to the ground. "You're a waste of my good beating anyway."

Trip was on his way to the bathroom, when suddenly, he had a vision. He saw the Black Ranger fighting Concertacon, then she got blasted, fell to the ground and demorphed. When his vision passed, he once more became aware of his surroundings. Trip was disturbed by what he'd seen, and wondered if he should tell Jen about his vision. He decided he could do it later. For now, he had to get ready to meet Christi for coffee. He was supposed to be there in one hour. Trip quickly showered, got dressed, and came downstairs to breakfast. Unfortunately, Trip had forgotten that last night Jen had told him, Katie and Lucas that Wes was going through a Mountain Man phase, and that he wanted to kill something for breakfast the next day. As a result, he was surprised to find that breakfast consisted of potatoes stir-fried with some helpless rodent.

"I'm going to go early to meet Christi." He told everyone.

"Lucky!" Lucas mouthed at him.

Wes scoffed. "Whatever, Trip. While you're sipping a latte, I will be enjoying the spoils of my soils!"

"Ooookay. 'Bye, guys." Trip called.

"Yeah, you better keep walking!" Wes yelled after him.

Trip was very disturbed on the walk over to his date with Christi. He kept thinking about his vision about the Black Ranger, how he saw her fall out of morph. He hadn't seen her face, but she'd seemed so familiar, it made him wondered where he'd seen her before. The whole thing gave him a very eerie feeling. When he finally he made it to the coffee shack where he'd arranged to meet Christi, he was comforted by the sight of Christi's smiling face. He returned her smile, and went over to her.

"Hi, Christi." Trip said.

"Hey, Trip." Christi said. She seemed distant, and he sensed that something was wrong.

"Christi, What is it?" Trip asked. He wanted to make sure she was all right.

Christi sighed. "Trip, there's something I have to tell you." she said.

"Go ahead," he said encouragingly. But before Christi could say anything, Trip's morpher beeped. "Not now . . . " he muttered to himself. "Christi, I have to go."

"But Trip, I have to tell you. . ." Christi started. Trip cut her off.

"I'm sorry, if it was any time other than now. . . I just- I have to go." And with that, Trip was off.

He ran to the scene of Concertacon's attack. The other Rangers were there, unmorphed.

"Didn't you learn anything from your last beating, Concertacon?" Wes asked.

"I learned that you pathetic Rangers are nothing without the Black one." Concertacon taunted.

Lucas said, "We'll see who's pathetic!"

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!

"Our pleasure," Wes said.

"You guys ready?" Jen asked.

"Ready." The other Rangers confirmed. "Time for, Time Force!"

In a flash of multicolored light the five of them were transformed into the Power Rangers. Concertacon summoned a horde of Cyclobots.

"Cyclobots, attack!" He ordered. The Cyclobots were no match for the Rangers, and in no time, the Cyclobots were defeated.

"All, right, Concertacon, we're taking you in." Jen announced.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Concertacon whipped at the Rangers with his bladed tail. His tail was sheared off in midair by a pair of black Chrono Sabers.

"It's the Black Ranger!" Trip cried.

The Black Ranger stood before Concertacon. "Hold it right there, Concertacon!" she called. "Time Force! You're under arrest."

"You'll pay for that, Ranger!" Concertacon blasted the Black Ranger, and she shot sparks and fell to the ground. Concertacon turned on her and faced the other Rangers. He didn't see her get up.

"I'll get him! Chrono Blaster!" Trip called. He aimed at the mutant.

"Give it your best shot, Ranger!" Concertacon taunted.

The Black Ranger ran toward Concertacon, poised to attack him from the rear. She never even got close.

"Fire!" Trip called.

Just as Trip's shot headed toward Concertacon, Concertacon molelcularized and the blast hit the Black Ranger, who was standing behind Concertacon. The Black Ranger screamed as she was blasted into the air, then fell to the ground and painfully demorphed.

"No!" Trip cried.

"Later, Rangers!" Concertacon said, and with that, he ran away.

The other Rangers powered down and went over to the form of the fallen Black Ranger. Trip rolled her over gently, and for the first time, they saw the Black Ranger's face. Her face was cut and burned, but still recognizable. Trip was the only one who knew who the face belonged to. It was Christi. She was the Black Power Ranger.

"No . . ." Trip said, in faint disbelief. "No . . . Christi!" he screamed in horror. "How could I have done this to you?!" Tears steramed down Trip's face as he reverently scooped up Christi's body and carried her back toward the clock tower. The other Rangers followed, in stony silence.


	5. Slowly Dying Hope

Back at the clock tower, Christi was laying on a cot in the office, her wounds bandaged and her burns treated. Trip sat beside her and held her hand, as he desperately searched her face for signs of life. In his seventeen years of life, he had never felt like any more of a failure. He remembered what his parents had said two years ago, when he was still on Xybria. He was arranged to marry a girl he didn't even know. Trip told his parents that he wasn't going to marry anyone he didn't love. They told him that their kind didn't marry for love, and that he was weak for believing in such a fickle concept. Then they sent him to the Time Force Academy to straighten him out. Trip's parents thought he was worthless, and as far as he knew, they were right. Trip wished he had just done what his parents had told him, and gotten married. That way, he would have never been sent to the Time Force Academy, never would have became a Ranger, never would have fired that shot . . . . If it wasn't for him, Christi wouldn't have been potentially killed. Trip's eyes welled up with tears and he squeezed Christi's limp hand, hoping she would live.

At around midnight, Katie came into the office to see how Trip and Christi were doing.

"Trip, are you coming to bed?" She asked. He shook his head.

"Not until I know she's all right." Trip said. His voice was rough.

"Hang in there, Trip. She'll be okay." Katie reassured him.

Trip got up to give Katie a hug. "Good night, Katie." He whispered to her.

"Good night." She left and closed the door behind her.

A few minutes later, Jen came into the office. "Trip, you need to go to bed. She's gonna be alright for the night," she said.

"I have to make sure she wakes up," Trip said.

Jen sighed. "Okay. But if you shirk your jobs tomorrow, _I'll kill you_."

"Okay." Trip said agreeably.

Lucas was next to pay Trip a visit. "Trip, are you coming to bed?" Lucas asked.

Trip shook his head. "Not yet."

He sighed. "Fine. Just don't make any noise." He went back to his room.

A little later Wes came in. He had a beer bottle in his hand, and had obviously been drinking substantially.

"Way to fucking go, Trip." Wes mumbled. "You find the one girl who's dumb enough to date you, and you fucking shoot her."

Tears began afresh in Trip's eyes. Wes was right, he figured. He deserved to have Wes say that, inebriated or not.

"She's going to live," Trip insisted. He didn't know who he was trying to convince.

"Whatever. Just don't shirk your jobs tomorrow, because if you do, Jen will kill you. And my name's on the lease, so if anyone gets killed here,_ I'm liable._"

Trip nodded, and Wes left. Trip held Christi's hand with both his hands. Suddenly, he heard a weird series of beeps. Trip went over to the computer to find that the DNA scan had a confirmed match. The screen read 'Christi Jackson.' There was no photo, no health information, nothing. She didn't exist in this time, that much was certain. _Why is there a name if she didn't exist?_ he wondered. Still, it didn't really do him any good anyway. He already knew who the Black Ranger was. He sighed and laid his head on the edge of her bed and closed his eyes. After a while, Trip drifted into a light sleep. He had tortured dreams, and in them, he watched the moment he shot Christi, over and over. No matter how hard he tried to hold back, no matter how hard he fought, something forced his finger to squeeze the trigger. Then after he saw Christi scream and fall to the ground, demorphed, it started over.

"Christi . . ." he cried faintly.

But there was nothing he could do.


	6. Awakening

Finally, around three a.m., Trip awoke to the sound of a gentle voice.

"Trip? Where am I?"

Trip shot straight up. He knew that sweet voice . . .

"Christi!" Trip cried. He hugged her gently, and was careful not to squeeze her.

"How did I get here? I remember Concertacon blasting me, I got up, and then everything went blank."

Trip drew in a deep breath and began. "After Concertacon blasted you, you tried to attack him from the rear. Then at the same time, I blasted him from the front, but he molecularized and the shot hit you. Then, I brought you here."

Christi looked around. "What is this place?" She asked.

"I live here. It's the abandoned clock tower." He said.

"Do you and the other Rangers live here, or is it just you?"

"We're all living here." Trip said. "So, when we were back at the coffee place . . . you were going to tell me that _you_ were the Black Ranger, weren't you?" He asked.

Christi nodded. "In the year 3001, I was the top cadet and first choice for the next Ranger. Then I heard that four other Rangers had been sent to the year 2001, so I searched the time banks for you. According to the time banks, you and the other Rangers were destroyed by Concertacon on July fourth, 2001. When I reported this to Captain Logan, he assigned me to confine Concertacon. He gave me the latest and greatest in Ranger technology, The Black Chrono Morpher. I was supposed to return with Concertacon in hand by July fifth, 2001. And since my time ship only has exactly 1000 years left, I have to return tonight."

Trip took Christi's hand. "We'll defeat Concertacon, Christi. I promise."

Christi smiled, comforted by his assurances.

After that, Trip and Christi spent the rest of the night talking. When morning came, Trip told Christi that he had to go fill the others in on the situation, and that if she needed anything, he'd help her. Christi just nodded, and Trip left.

The other Rangers were waiting for Trip in the kitchen. Jen was making coffee, and Wes, Katie and Lucas were sitting at the table.

"Is Christi all right?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, she's doing really well. She just needs to rest awhile." Trip said.

"How long has she been awake?" Jen asked.

"Since three this morning. I was talking to her until a few minutes ago." Trip said.

Wes smiled. "So, you were 'talking' to Christi for four hours, alone in a dark room with nothing but a chair and a small cot. I wonder what that conversation went like." Wes made his hands into little bunnies and enacted the scene of what he thought Trip and Christi had been doing all that time. Before the eyes of the other Rangers, the virginity of Wes's wrists were forever lost.

They took a moment to gape at Wes's immaturity, then Trip turned back to the others and continued. "Guys, Christi is from the year 3001. She was assigned by Time Force to save us. According to the time banks, Concertacon destroyed us today, and Ransik took over the world. If Concertacon isn't contained by the end of today, the timeline will shift and we may never be able to return to our own Time."

"Let's go then." Jen said urgently. "Right now. It's not like we need to wait for Concertacon to give us and invitation."

Just then, Circuit flew in.

"Rangers! Concertacon's back! He's attacking the city!"

"Let's go!" Jen ordered.

"You guys go. I'm going to tell Christi where we're going." Trip said.

"Okay. Meet us there," Jen said. And with that, they were off. Trip ran into Christi's room.

"Christi!" He told her breathlessly. "There's been a mutant attack. The rest of us are going to handle it. If you need anything, just ask Circuit."

Christi sat straight up. "Trip, wait. I can help. Let me go with you."

Trip shook his head. "No, Christi, it's too dangerous. You almost got killed the last time. You need to recover."

"Trip, please . . ." Christi pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Christi, but the others need me now. I have to go." He kissed her cheek gently, then dashed off.

Trip reached the scene of the attack just in time to see his fellow Rangers get demorphed by Concertacon. Trip ran to them.

"Guys! Are you okay?" He asked worriedly.

"Yeah, we're fine." Katie said.

"Any time today, Rangers!" Concertacon taunted.

Wes said, "Now's just fine for us. Ready?"

"Ready." The Rangers confirmed. "Time for, Time force!"

"Cyclobots, attack!" Concertacon called. The Rangers were once again swarmed by Cyclobots. They fought as long and as hard as they could, but they were vastly outnumbered. The Cyclobots closed in on them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the clock tower, Circuit was trying to get Christi to eat. "Come on, Christi." He coaxed. "You need your vitamins."

Christi sighed. "Circuit, give me a visual on the Rangers."

"Okay, fine." Circuit reluctantly showed Christi the Rangers. They were being swarmed by Cyclobots.

"I have to help the Rangers!" Christi said. She grabbed at her wrist, but felt nothing. Christi panicked. "Where's my morpher?!"

"Trip took it while you were asleep. He didn't want you to roll onto it while you were sleeping and get a kink in your back." Circuit told her.

Christi smiled. "That's so sweet of him . . . " she said dreamily. "That's not the point! Circuit, I NEED MY MORPHER!" She cried.

"No, Christi. You heard Trip. You almost got killed last time. He says it was his fault and that you don't need to be fighting alongside a liability like him."

"He . . . he said that?" Christi asked sadly. She couldn't understand why he would even say something like that. Trip was a great Ranger. "Circuit, it wasn't his fault. Trip needs me, and I'm going to help him."

Circuit caved. "Okay. He put it in a safe, sanitary container that's never used. Wes's hamper."

Christi ran to Wes's room extracted her morpher. "Thanks, Circuit." She said gratefully. "Time for, Time force!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the other Rangers were getting swallowed by the massive horde of Cyclobots.

"We're getting swallowed by this massive horde of Cyclobots!" Wes screamed.

The Cyclobots enveloped Lucas, and overtook him. He fell to the ground and demorphed. Then Katie tried to use her Chrono Blaster, but the Cyclobots were too close. They threw her against the hood of an abandoned tractor. She demorphed before she hit the ground. Jen and Wes fought side by side, until Wes tried to clothesline one of the Cyclobots, which left Jen's right flank exposed. The Cyclobots exploited that weakness as soon as it came. Jen and Wes got blasted, and they demorphed. Only Trip was left standing. Six Cyclobots fired on him from different directions, and though he tried, he couldn't deflect all of the shots. Trip got blasted, and he fell to the ground, his morph holding only by a thread. The Cyclobots stood over him, but just before they were able to blast him, they suddenly shot sparks and fell to the ground. Then Trip saw Christi, her Chrono Blaster aimed at where the Cyclobots had stood.

"Christi!" Trip cried.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." He said. "Christi, you have to go back. The last time you fought alongside me, I almost destroyed you. I can't let that happen again."

"Trip," she said gently. What happened last time wasn't your fault. You and I are the only ones left. We have to defeat Concertacon together!"

Trip slowly rose to his feet. "All right." He said. "Let's do it!"

Trip and Christi fought the rest of the Cyclobots together. Trip was amazed to see the passion and fire with which Christi fought. With every deadly precise slice Christi delivered, about ten Cyclobots fell. When the Cyclobots were defeated, Christi turned to face Concertacon.

"All right, Concertacon. We're taking you in." She said commandingly.

"Try and make me, Ranger!" Concertcon taunted.

"All right, Trip." Christi said. "I'll attack Concertacon from the rear, and you blast him from the front."

"No way!" Trip protested. "He'll moleclarize and my blast will just hit you!"

"That's what I'm counting on." She said. "Just trust me."

"But if I screw up again, then you might. . ." Trip's voice trailed off. "I couldn't stand to see that happen."

"You can do it, Trip," Christi said. "I have faith in you."

Trip looked at her, and for just a moment, he could feel her emotions as she spoke. He felt sincerity in her words, the concern for him, but most of all, he felt her love. It was that driving force that made her fight the way she did. She was fighting for him.

Finally, he spoke. "Okay," he said. "Let's go."

Trip leapt over Concertacon's head, and landed on the other side of him. Concertacon turned to face Trip.

"It's all over, Concertacon!" Trip declared.

"Take your best shot, Ranger!" Concertacon challenged.

"Chrono Blaster!" Trip called. He desperately hoped that it would work.

"Fire!" Trip cried. His fiery blast hurtled toward Concertacon. Concertacon molecularizied, then as soon as the blast passed, he solidified. Christi blocked the shot with her Chrono sabers, then hurled the blast at Concertacon's solidified form. He never knew what hit him.

"Game over, Concertacon!" Christi called. Concertacon exploded, then fell to the ground as a tiny steaming action figure. Christi contained him, than handed the container to Trip.

"Christi!" He cried. "You did it!"

She shook her head. "_We _did it," she said. They helped the other Rangers up.

"Are you guys okay?" Trip asked.

"Yeah." Said Katie.

"Good job." Jen said.


	7. A Thousand Years Between Us

**Epilogue**

Later the Rangers were back at the clock tower, doing nothing in particular. Suddenly, Wes jumped up.

"Hey, guys, I forgot that today is the fourth of July!" Wes said excitedly.

"So, what does that mean?" Jen asked.

"What? You haven't heard of it? I can't believe the fourth of July never made it to the year 3000! It's a holiday where people eat barbecued food and watch other people shoot off fireworks."

"Why the fourth of July? What happened then?" Lucas asked.

Wes rolled his eyes. "I don't know! Just for the hell of it."

"Well, let's do it." Katie said. "Just for the hell of it."

Wes, Jan, Katie and Lucas went shopping for fourth of July stuff, leaving Trip and Christi to themselves. They sat on the couch in uncomfortable silence.

"Christi?" Trip asked after a while.

"Yeah?"

"When you asked me out the first time, was it just because you knew that I was a Ranger?" Trip asked.

Christi looked at him, plainly shocked. "No! I didn't even figure out that you were a Ranger until our second date. Why do you think I asked you about your morpher?"

Trip shook his head. "I don't know, maybe you were just seeing if I would tell you?"

"No," Christi moved a little closer. "Why would you think I wanted to test you?"

Trip shrugged. "I guess because of that time you told me I was the nicest human being you'd ever known."

"I really meant that!" Christi was shocked and hurt.

"I just meant, you know, that I'm not human."

"You're not?" She looked at him a little more closley. "Wow! I didn't even realize . . . "

Trip sighed. "Well, I guess it dosen't matter now. You have to go back tonight."

"But we still have today. We should make the most of it. . ." Christi got closer to Trip, and gently ran her finger over his gem..

"I guess. . ."

Christi and Trip leaned into each other, closer and closer. . .

"Hey, losers!" Wes called as he burst through the clock tower doors. Trip and Christi jumped apart, their moment ruined.

Jen and Lucas closely followed Wes. They shared a collective "Muh."

Katie was not far behind. Her eyes were round with horror, and she kept muttering the same phrase. "So . . . much . . . urine."

"Guess who made six old guys PEE THEIR PANTS ALL AT ONCE?" Wes yelled.

"I'm gonna. . ." Jen growled.

"Just wait until tonight. Then we'll burn Wes." Lucas assured her.

"What are you gonna do?" Trip asked.

"Just wait." Lucas grinned.

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That night, before the fireworks started, Jen, Lucas and Katie set up their Wes-burner in the park. Circuit had told them about Wes's secret underwear stash. All of Wes's underpants had stains of some kind on them, except for three pairs Wes kept hidden away, because he harbored a superstition that unstained underpants were lucky. So Jen, Lucas and Katie had stolen Wes's underwear stash and were fixing to attach them to fireworks, and then shoot them off. Then they summoned Wes to come to the park with them at night to 'see the fireworks.' As soon as Wes arrived, Jen gave the signal to begin.

"Hey, Wes. Check this out." Jen said as she, Lucas and Katie dangled the underwear in front of Wes.

"No! My underwear!" He screamed.

"Really?" Asked Lucas. He, Jen and Katie ran to the row of three fireworks rockets they had set up and quickly tied Wes's underwear to them.

"DON'T DO IT!" Wes begged.

"Remember the dead rodent breakfast?" Jen asked.

"Or all those times you harassed my baby- I mean, Trip?" Katie put in."

Lucas said, "I will avenge my late pissed-in hair gel."

"PLEASE DON'T!" Wes pleaded.

"NOW!" Jen ordered. They lit the fuses all at once.

"Five, four, three, two, one. . ." Jen counted. Until. . . BANG! In a colorful explosion, Wes's underwear were gone forever. Wes fell to his knees in anguish.

"Aww, Fuuuuuck." Wes sobbed.

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Meanwhile, Christi and Trip were at the beach, where Christi had left her time ship. Christi swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Trip. . ." She began. "You could come back to the future with me, and we could be together. . ."

Trip shook his head. "I wish I could. But the other Rangers need me. I can't go back until Ransik is defeated."

Christi nodded. "I'll be waiting." She sighed and looked back at her time ship.

"Christi. . ." Trip said.

Chrsti turned to face him, with the sea breeze gently blowing her hair, and stars in her eyes.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Christi's eyes welled up with tears. "I-I love you, too . . ."

Trip leaned into Christi's warm embrace, and the two shared a passionate kiss. As they came together, the fireworks began to shoot off in colorful bursts of light, illuminating the entire sky. Trip and Christi held onto each other, not wanting it to end. Finally, when they had to pull away, the tears in Christi's eyes spilled over as she let go.

"Goodbye, Trip," Christi walked into her time ship, and it took off.

Trip watched Christi's time ship as it flew off, as it grew smaller and smaller, and finally, the time hole opened and the her time ship disappeared.

Trip stared at the sky long after the time hole had closed.

"Goodbye, Christi." He said quietly. Christi was gone now, a thousand years beyond him. But no matter what amount of time separated them, Trip knew he would be with her again.

Someday.

**THE END.**


End file.
